Sincerity

Sincerity

Eileen Renders

   Do we have it? Is it really necessary, and what exactly is it? We all seem to understand what it is not, and when, and where it is missing. It is those ties for example, when someone ahead of us in line takes a step backward and steps hard on our foot, turns around, and says; “Oh, sorry.” All the while our foot is throbbing! Other times, it might be when we leave a little space between ourselves and the individual ahead of us in line at a Checkout counter, and someone jumps in between. We might say; “Excuse me, I am next in line.” That person reluctantly steps out of line looks you in the eye, and says; “Sorry.” There are many times, when we have been treated rudely, and are certain the lame apology was not felt as sincere.

   Oxford language describes sincerity, as a quality free from pretense, deceit, or hypocrisy, such as
“The sincerity of his beliefs is unquestionable.” Needless to say, sincerity is truthfulness that comes from our heart.

   We may all need a reminder occasionally of how sincerity relates to God. For example; When going to the sacrament of Reconciliation we confess our sins to the priest in the Confessional and they pray this prayer; “Oh my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, but most of all because they offend Thee my God who art all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve with the help of Thy graces, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life, Amen.” 

   With this prayer, we are telling God we are truly sorry (from our sincere heartfelt sorrow) for having hurt Him through the admission of our sins. We then promise with His help we will amend our lives (sin no more). 

   As adults we enter into the Confessional to reconcile with God, to admit our sins, to ask for His help, to sincerely regret hurting Him, and promise not to do so again, and to ask for His help. This sacrament is one that begs our understanding, truthfulness, and sincerity. Otherwise, why would we be there on our knees simply recanting memorized prayer words? God judges us by our hearts, our sincerity, our truthfulness.

   An option for preparing to enter the Confessional before our Reconciliation might be to kneel in a pew for a few minutes, and recount the many ways we may have offended our loving God. Let our minds, and hearts place us at the foot of His Cross as He cried out to His Father; “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Yet, He accepted the Father’s will to save us from sin. Thinking of His great love for His Father, and for us, and how we, His creation, continue to hurt Him is a good way to bring real sincerity into our hearts, and the Confessional. Thus, helping us to pray for the wisdom, and courage to refrain from sin.